Taskmaster: Pinewood Edition
The audtition
From Series 4 on, the classic comedy panel show Taskmaster has been filmed at Pinewood. After over 150 episodes so far, the show has a large following of people loving to see just what tasks these people who successfully complete, regardless of how outrageous they are. Now, guests have the opportunity to partake in the shenanigans!
Each morning, auditions open for guests who want to be one of the guests compete through a variety of tasks for one of the “episodes” that day. Through the audition process, guests are asked various questions about why they’d want to go on the stage to compete and ensure they are okay with their park day now being taken to do this instead of spending the day in the park (throughout the day they’d be filmed attempting tasks instead of riding rides). After confirming all of that, they meet with a former producer of Taskmaster where the guests are given example tasks they could be asked and how the guest would expect/ plan to complete the task. If the producer likes their answer, they are selected as one of the 20-25 guests lucky enough to compete on taskmaster that day!
the show
Once selected, the guests are taken to a Taskmaster building on the backlot where they meet with other members of the crew as they get ready for whatever their tasks may be. Once everything is ready and in place, the guests are given their set of tasks.
Example tasks they may be given include:
Single Rider No More:
While in line for a ride, the contestant has to try and add themselves to the family ahead or behind them in line so when they are telling the attendant how many in the party, they’re included in the number.
Photo Bombers Unite:
Contestants are tasked with strategically photobombing unsuspecting theme park visitors' pictures. Bonus points for creativity and making people laugh without them realising.
Balloon Relay:
Contestants must navigate through the park completing challenges at designated locations. The catch: they can only move while holding a large bundle of balloons overhead, and if a guest stops them to buy one, they must give them a balloon.
Queue Line Karaoke:
Contestants are challenged to perform a theme park-inspired karaoke performance while waiting in line for a ride. Bonus points for creativity and crowd engagement.
Fortune Teller Foray:
Contestants perform a short fortune-telling act for park visitors. Points are awarded for creativity, humour, and the ability to engage the audience.
Popcorn Bucket Percussion:
Contestants create a rhythm and percussion performance using only empty popcorn buckets and other available park items. The most rhythmic and entertaining performance wins.
After the audience sees the videos of the various tasks done by the contestants, and along with the judges, vote for which contestant they thought did the best. After a few shows, they take the winner of each and run a “best of” to have those last 5 winners compete in the next show for ultimate bragging rights.